Wimbledon: Thompson, Vukic lead Aussie charge with five-set wins
A number of Australians were in action on day one of Wimbledon, with both Aleksandar Vukic and Jordan Thompson winning in five sets on Monday.
Qualifier Alex Bolt and the big-serving Max Purcell weren’t as successful, falling to No.8 seed Casper Ruud and Otto Virtanen respectively in straight sets.
Daria Saville gained a two-set win in the women’s event, overcoming Peyton Stearns in her opening match.
Thompson and Vukic both win epics
Both Thompson and Vukic showed off their fighting spirit and would have been brilliant options to bet on live.
Thompson found himself behind by two sets to love against Russia’s Pavel Kotov. The 25-year-old made a run to the round of 16 at the French Open and looked set for another Grand Slam victory when he went ahead 7-5, 7-5 against Thompson.
However, Thompson found his serve just in time, defying bookmaker odds to execute a remarkable five-set victory by winning the next three sets 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
Vukic put together an equally dramatic win against Sebatian Ofner, with the Aussie coming within inches of defeat.
It was a back-and-forth affair for the world No.69. Vukic dropped the first set in a tiebreaker 11-9 before winning the next two.
Ofner then stormed back into the match, claiming the fourth set and pushing Vukic to a tiebreaker in the deciding set.
When it mattered most, the Australian held his nerve, getting over the line 10-8 to book his spot in the second round.
More Australians in action on day two of Wimbledon
There will be plenty more Aussie action on day two in London.
James Duckworth and Alex de Minaur are set to clash in an all-Australian affair. De Minaur is heavily favoured to win, with tennis bookies returning just $1.05 for the world No.9 to advance.
Ajla Tomljanovic also gets her campaign under way on Tuesday. She takes on mercurial Latvian Jelena Ostapenko and is an underdog at $2.50 with bookmaker Bet365.
Thanasi Kokkinakis, Alexei Popyrin and Rinky Hijikata are all in action too.
